The invention relates to a recording and/or reproducing apparatus for a record carrier in tape form which extends between two adjacent, rotatingly driveable hubs, having two rotatingly driveable winding spindles, provided for driving the hubs, and having two adjacent friction wheels, each of which is in drive connection with one of the two winding spindles and are alternatively driveable at the periphery by a rotatingly driveable, driving part which is rotatably mounted on a swivellable carrier arranged centrally in relation to the two friction wheels and can be brought alternatively into friction drive connection with one of the two friction wheels at the periphery by swivelling the carrier and, with the friction drive connection established, rests against the friction wheel concerned under spring force. Such an apparatus is known, for example, from German Offenlegungsschrift 2,348,941.
In the known apparatus, the carrier for the driving part formed by a friction wheel is swivellable about a single swivel bearing and, when the driving part is in friction drive connection with one of the two friction wheels in drive connection with the winding spindles, a plane through the axis of the driving part and the axis of the swivel bearing of the carrier and a plane through the axis of the driving part and the axis of the friction wheel concerned enclose an obtuse angle, i.e. an angle of more than 90.degree.. In this known apparatus, the force transmission conditions between the driving part and the friction wheels are firstly dependent on the spring force with which the driving part rests against the friction wheel concerned and, secondly, also on pull-in effects which act on the driving part due to the obtuse angle mentioned above and endeavour to increase this angle. These pull-in effects are dependent on the coefficient of friction between the friction partners, which, however, alters when considered over the service life, namely decreases to a relatively marked extent. As a result, the force transmission conditions overall change when considered over the service life, in particular the transmission of force from the driving part to the two friction wheels decreases to a relatively marked extent with time. Thus the force transmission conditions are not uniformly good when considered over the service life, this being unfavourable with regard to uniformly good driving of the two friction wheels and hence of the record carrier. These pull-in effects are also additionally dependent on load fluctuations on the friction wheel driven in the particular case which are due to the hub driven by the friction wheel, this leading to nonuniform driving of the friction wheel concerned and hence of the record carrier depending on the changing pull-in effects.